Hooked on ‘Heroes’

There’s something about people having superpowers that fascinates me. This inclination is most apparent in my addiction to comic books, particularly to the world of X-Men who, believe it or not, are characters I actually consider to be my second family. Each issue from this astonishing Marvel line unravels an amazing new chapter from these merry mutants’ lives. Furthermore, these become my personal respite from the hurly-burly of college life. Hey, they’re superheroes. How can you go wrong?

The ability to fly, the ability to walk through walls, the ability to manipulate the time-space continuum – they all seem incredibly out of this world, but, reality permitting, all too cool powers to have. The normality of the human self makes possible such aspirations (delusions of grandeur if you will), and compels people such as myself to aim for the unimaginable, for possibilities only realized by comic book superheroes. After all, men wouldn’t get far in life without their vivid imaginations. That is, if one is permitted to keep collecting despite constant changes in creative teams, occasional offshoots, or tie-ins with other comic book lines. Thankfully, the curious need not worry about these things, especially since the folks at NBC have come up with a new series showcasing the same cool stuff, in a way you’ve never seen before.

Aptly named Heroes, the surprise hit of the season draws from the tradition of ordinary human beings living ordinary lives who discover that they possess extraordinary abilities. Creator Tim King who is also the brains behind NBC’s Crossing Jordan interlaces the stories of nine different individuals who must band together in order to prevent a catastrophe in New York City and, ultimately, save the world. These people hail from all over America, while two of ‘em fly halfway ‘round the world from India and Japan.

The epic saga begins as nine individuals bear witness to a solar eclipse that casts its shadow across the planet. One is a young nurse (Milo Ventimiglia, Gilmore Girls) whose brother (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) is running for office in the Big Apple. After experiencing his share of prophetic dreams, Peter Petrelli tries to convince his brother Nathan that he has the capability of flight, much to the latter’s cynical disbelief. On the other hand, a high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, Bring It On 3: All or Nothing) discovers that she is indestructible after countless suicide attempts. For fear of shame and rejection, Claire Bennet tries to hide her newfound ability from her adoptive parents; not knowing that one of ‘em has some mysterious agenda for her and her fellow "heroes."

Meanwhile, an Internet stripper (Ali Larter, Final Destination) hasn’t been feeling herself lately as she deals with her reflection that may just have its own life about it. Niki Sanders, along with her son Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey, My Wife & Kids), is forced into constant flight from shady gangsters and her fugitive husband (Leonard Roberts, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) who has been confounding authorities due to their constant failure to hold him in captivity. On the other side of the law is a Los Angeles cop (Greg Grunberg, Alias) who discovers that he can actually hear other people’s thoughts. In the crime scene investigation of a suburban household, Matt Parkman is subsequently thrust into the pursuit of an enigmatic serial killer.

Across the globe, a young man (Masi Oka, Scrubs) believes that he can bend the time-space continuum. To test his theory, Hiro Nakamura accidentally teleports himself to New York City weeks into the future where he stumbles upon gifted painter Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera, Empire) who has the ability to paint the future when under the influence of drugs – only the latter has been assassinated in his studio.

Finally, a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, Blind Guy Driving) discovers that his father has been found dead in his apartment for some mysterious reason. Mohinder Suresh then sets out to piece together his father’s theory on evolution – a theory that postulates that there are indeed people with extraordinary abilities living among us, people who may or may not shift over to the dark side, and people, if they choose to accept it, who can bring "hero" to a whole new level.

Heroes blends interesting plotlines and characters from all walks of life, and probes the social and emotional conflicts that emerge with the discovery of each hero’s uncanny abilities. As the show vivifies its comic book feel through panel-like cinematography, imbedded episode titles, and some awesome special effects (especially on Hiro’s part), it also adopts a cryptic tone, evident in Kring’s chosen conflicts such as Niki’s schizophrenia, and Ramamurthy’s chilling narration at the beginning and end of each episode. Coupled with Hiro’s geeky antics to ingest some comic relief to the haunting yet astoundingly brilliant show, I’m quite certain that Heroes will take Manila by storm as soon as it gets to our shores. I have one reservation, though. Nine episodes into the series and I have yet to see a hero whose power didn’t remind me of anything that’s already been done within the X-Men community. But who am I to complain? For as long Marvel hasn’t drawn up any plans to make a TV version of X-Men, make mine Heroes!

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Oops: In my column that came out in the Nov.10 issue of Young Star about surfing, I wrote San Fernando instead of San Juan. My sincerest apologies to the owners of the San Juan Surf Resort and the town’s locals. For bookings and reservations, contact Surf Resort at (072)7200340.

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Catch your breath and let me know what you think at chasingtoff@yahoo.com.